We've been attending the Vancouver CSTS event since 2008, and every year we have a ton of fun with costumes, auctions, sing-alongs and, of couse, seeing Serenity on the big screen one more time with the BC Browncoats and friends.
The 8th Annual Vancouver CSTS is on Saturday May 25, 12:30 - 5:30 PM at the MacMillan Space Centre, and promises to be another awesome event.
Check out the awesome auction items on the CSTS Vancouver blog - and find out how you can take part! Keep up to date with all the excitement by following @CSTSVancouver on Twitter, too.
It would be funny if it wasn't so...no, actually it is funny. But also a little sad.
Fandoms gone wild have made the headlines in the UK. The 4th Annual Norwich Sci-Fi convention was the venue for a showdown between Dr Who fans and Star Wars fans. It has been widely reported from such bastions of hard news at The Guardian and the BBC, to IMBd (who knew they blogged?!?) and The Sun (nuff said). No word from Alan Partridge as we go to press.
The Guardian used the brouhaha to unveil their knowledge of fandoms (Browncoats!), but rather spoiled it with this:
Browncoats spend their days arguing over the show's correct episode order, writing lesbian slash fiction about the show's female characters and clamouring for Whedon to open a Kickstarter page to fund a new Firefly movie, even though he's not really that bothered now he's got the Incredible Hulk to muck around with. (Link)
And people wonder why fans get upset?
Still, the main thing is that the warring fandoms are going to try to make peace. From the BBC piece:
Dominic Warner, secretary of Norwich Star Wars Club, said: "It's been blown up as if it was a fight. There was no fighting."
He acknowledged there had been disputes between club members in the past, but said: "There is no bad feeling between the two clubs. We have never interfered with them.
"It does sound comical. People that dress up in costume are labelled geeks and some people laugh at us, and this just makes it even more so."
He said the two clubs were having discussions about a meeting to resolve their differences. (Link)
So there we have it. No battle, just a little turf war. Whooligans? Hardly. They wouldn't Hurt a Firefly.
One way to stave off Guild Deficiency Syndrome!
It's always hard to find new ways to stop the GDS from kicking in hard. Luckily there are now The Guild comics, too, but nothing beats sitting down to watch a whole season in the company of like-minded people. Once more La Fontana Caffe is the venue for what promises to be an afternoon of Guildie-related fun. Great food, company and entertainment - guaranteed.
Want to see BC Browncoats in Action?
For the last 5 years the BC Browncoats have been celebrating Can't Stop The Serenity day in Vancouver, raising lots of cashy money for charities such as Equality Now and BC Women's Hospital Foundation. I've been to the last 3 events and they were amazing - a wonderful day out topped off by seeing Serenity on the big screen.
Last year I asked my fellow Browncoats if they would wish a certain person a Happy Birthday - and this is the result:
How are YOU coping with Guild Deficiency Syndrome?
Serena with the custom Jayne hat she made for Higlet - shiny*!
Sunny Summer Saturday: Let's geek!
For someone with more than her fair share of freckles, the sun is not really my friend. So what better way to spend a record-breaking heatwave than driving into Vancouver and sitting in a friendly cafe watching my favourite gamers living, loving and learning? (Well - living, anyway.)
*The Jayne hat that Serena knitted is so cool and it fits perfectly - thank you, Serena! If you want your own Jayne hat - or tea cosy, loo roll holder or more - then you can order them from Serena here.
Relaxing, mid-marathon
You never forget your first time
It wasn't just die-hard Guildies, there, either. Several people who had never seen The Guild before came along and, judging by the laughs, gasps and LOLs, everyone had a great time. I spoke to a long time Browncoat who had heard of The Guild but had never seen any of it. He was very impressed by the end of Season 1, and stayed for all 3 Seasons. The quality of the writing and acting surprised him and he was very interested in the history of how The Guild came about. And his favourite character was Clara - who is so endearing despite being so morally bankrupt. Thanks to Serena and Alan for organising everything, we had a wonderful time!
Did someone say Felicia? Or Roger?
A funny thing happen on the way...
Apparently, on the way home from the Marathon, Gayle was talking about Felicia and the person in the next seat leaned over and asked if they were talking about Felicia Day. Such is the power of Red....
All the pictures I took are on my Flickr account, and here's a slideshow of it:
Season 4: nearly here!
Don't forget the auto-tuned Season 3 recap:
And don't forget the Season 4 teaser, either:
<br/><a href="http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/season-4-trailer/y08waqri?fg=sharenoembed" target="_new"title="Season 4 - Trailer">Video: Season 4 - Trailer</a>
Of course, re-watching your DVDs is really the best way to prepare:
http://www.meetup.com/BC-Browncoats/calendar/13939618/#initializedBC Browncoats, La Fontana, The Guild: Saturday perfection.
Join us this afternoon at La Fontana Caffe, 3701 Hastings St, Burnaby at 3:00 for The Guild Marathon - Seasons 1 to 3 in a feast of bite-sized comedy gems, all served up by Felicia Day and crew. Good company, good food and wickedly funny entertainment - can't think of a better way to spend a hot Saturday afternoon! Hope to see you there.
The Guild at the 2010 San Deigo Comic Con (SDCC)
The schedule for SDCC has been released with all the details about The Guild panel and booth over on watchtheguild.com. They are listed under “Signal Fire Studios/The Guild” in the exhibitor guide and are at booth 4201. The whole cast will be there and there will be signings every day - keep checking watchtheguild.com for updates. And also make sure you are following @theguild on twitter, because any last minute changes and opportunities will be announced there.
Season 4 - only three days away!
To get you in the mood for Season 4 here is the teaser trailer - wow! It looks like Season 4 is going to be every bit as exciting and hard to call as Season 3 (and 2, and 1). I will be reviewing the episodes on PinkRaygun.com again this season - you can check out my Season 3 reviews here:
LATE BREAKING NEWS!
AlanD passes on this news: Felicia Day joins the BC Browncoats so she can reply to her invitation:
Season 4 of The Guild is less than one week away!
Remember how hard Guild Deficiency Syndrome bit during the winter? How long the months stretched as we waited for news of Season 4 (except for those readers in the Southern Hemisphere, of course. For you it was a long summer :))? Well now the wait is almost over! Season 4 premieres on July 13th, so how should one prepare for this momentous event? Here's one suggestion:
BC Browncoats present: The Guild Marathon
I don't have to worry about making sure I'm up to date with everything because Serena from The BC Browncoats, along with Alan D "Masked Roger" Penguin-guy, have arranged for Seasons 1-3 to be shown at La Fontana in Vancouver this Saturday. Three Seasons in One Day will be a treat for Guildies and those who are Guild-curious, and hopefully it will be a Crowded House. Apparently there are *still* some people in the world who haven't seen Felicia Day in all her glory, so this will be a great primer for them, too.
On a scale of 1 to 10....
...it rocks! But are people really excited about the prospect of Season 4? How can you even measure that? I'm not sure but I think that this gives you an indication:
In 14 hours there were 2,471 likes and 233 comments to The Guild announcement on Facebook. That's not bad going! And, in case you were wondering, it also confirms that Season 4 will debut on both Xbox Live AND the web simultaneously.
Be there and be square!
I'll be at La Fontana on Saturday so if you are there say hello. I'm very friendly but, being English and all, I can be a bit shy. I can't promise any of the stars will be there but lots of cool people will be, so come along for some fun.
DVDs on offer...
Amazon.com has the Seasons 1 and 2 DVD and
the Season 3 DVD on offer at the moment, too:
(Sorry about these not lining up ok - I'm trying out the new Blogger/Amazon Associates integration and haven't quite sorted out how the images work o_O)
On June 26th 2010 the 5th Annual Can’t Stop The Serenity was held in Vancouver, BC to raise money for Equality Now and the BC Women's Hospital. The BC Browncoats put on a great day’s entertainment and both Hubby and me had an awesome time. We made a short video:
Since we couldn't capture everything on the video, here's some highlights from the day:
Introduction and Joss videos
Gayle and Serena spoke about why we were all there for the 5th year of CSTS, the money that has been raised so far and the power of the Browncoats. We then watched some videos including Joss' Equality Now acceptance speech and his Serendipity Speech, which really got everyone in the mood for the day.
Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, sing-along
I missed the beginning because of costume competition duties, but as soon as slipped in I was singing along. It was a heart-warming experience and I thoroughly enjoyed singing, laughing and gasping along with everyone else. ("..The hammer is my penis." and "...I meant Ghandi.." were among the favourite lines!).
Evil Laugh Contest
I was surprised at how many of my fellow Browncoats possess evil laughs! There must be a coach in the area…. The competition was fierce and it went to a laugh-off between the last three.
The Masked Roger - unmasked?
The Masked Roger Marathon
This was definitely a highlight. The Masked Roger webseries is funny, smart and full of cool effects. Alan has a great sense of humour and it’s worth watching them a few times to make sure you get all the jokes. It was great to see it on the big screen and it went down extremely well with the crowd. Alan also gave a very good speech about the inspiration behind The Masked Roger and how he came to make a webseries. I wish I had managed to record it. He talked about how Dr Horrible and the ELE competitions started it off, how Felicia Day and The Guild spurred him along and how the feedback and encouragement from the BC Browncoats helped to keep him going. Now, Alan, when can we expect the next episode…?
The Costume Parade (and Hubby's bare knee :))
Costume Contest Parade and Prizes
Hubby had his knees on display, dressed as he was as Fawkes (from The Guild Season 3 and soon-to-be 4). There was an array of costumes from Firefly and the Whedonverse, with the Bad Horse Chorus also putting on a great display (and yes, they did the song, too!). It was very hard to do the judging but there were some very worthy winners.
Browncoats: Redemption Screening
Vancouver was one of the few CSTS events to see the full rough cut of Browncoats: Redemption. I’ve been following progress of the film for a long time now. I’m writing up some detailed feedback for the producers but I can tell you that even though the screening was of a rough cut, I can’t wait to see the finished film. Hubby and I were both impressed with it, and the solid base of the film looks really good. The full premiere at Dragon:Con will be a packed event, I’m sure! I will be writing more about Browncoats: Redemption soon, so look out for that.
I didn’t manage to get a ticket for the Whedon-Works Trivia Bingo but there were some happy winners and some tricky questions, so I took the opportunity to check out the bids on the Silent Auction. There were some amazing items, from signed photos of Jewel Staite, a signed copy of The Guild DVD, genre books, games, models, a knitted dalek….The bidding was pretty fierce for some of the items!
Serenity
What can you say about this film? It represents so many things but, at its heart, it is simply an excellent film full of laughter, tears, action, adventure and a passion that runs through everything. A passion for life, friends and doing what is right. If you’ve never seen the films in the company of fellow Browncoats then I heartily recommend that you do. It is a moving experience.
Cowboy!
Door Prizes and Silent Auction winners
The winning didn’t stop, and there were some amazing door prizes given out after the screening. We didn’t win a door prize but we did win an item on the Silent Auction which has been a very welcome addition.
To Gayle, Serena and everyone else who worked so hard to make the event run smoothly – thank you for making it such an enjoyable day!
(Felicia celebrating her brithday, from @georgeruiz)
Happy Birthday, Felicia - now weep!
In an effort to show their appreciation for Felicia Day, fans worked for months to prepare a birthday surprise she would never forget - but it seemed like it had backfired when Felicia turned up on Guild Chat:
You can see for yourself why:
Breaking News: Felicia LOVED the Video!
After checking sources it has been revealed that, in fact, Felicia was crying tears of JOY at the video, not despair!
And to confirm this, Felicia also left this comment on the video:
"OMG thanks all of you for making my birthday a fantastic day, you are all amazing! :) I'm so happy to be a part of your community! :)" (From YouTube)
Congratulations to everyone involved - it was a wonderful way to celebrate someone special!
EDIT: Dani has created a new topic for Felicia's Birthday with more details about the video :)
More Birthday Greetings!
We couldn't let Felicia have a birthday without doing something ourselves, so we recruited a few helpers in the shape of the BC Browncoats at the Can't Stop The Serenity in Vancouver on Saturday:
It's that time of year again!
Time to dust off your Jayne hat, polish up your space boots, and don your Browncoat - 'tis the season to be mighty! This year marks the FIFTH annual Can't Stop The Serenity global sci-fi charity event. If you've never heard of it before then 1) Where have you BEEN for the last 5 years??? 2) It is an annual charity screening of Joss Whedon's film, Serenity, in multiple cities across the globe which raises money for the charity, Equality Now. 3) It's a great way to get out and meet new folks.
Why?
Good question. There are many answers but the overriding one is to raise funds for Equality Now because the work they do is more relevant now than ever. Their mission statement:
"Equality Now works to end violence and discrimination against women and girls around the world through the mobilization of public pressure."(from their website)
Joss Whedon tells us why it's important:
"...Equality is not a concept. It's not something we should be striving for. It's a necessity. Equality is like gravity. We need it to stand on this Earth as men and women. And the misogyny that is in every culture is not a true part if the human condition, it's life out of balance and that imbalance is sucking something out of the soul of every man and woman confronted with it. We need equality. Kinda now...." (Joss Whedon, Equality Now awards ceremony, 2006).
VANCOUVER CSTS!
This Saturday, 26th June, Vancouver is holding its charity screening of Serenity event and what a fun-packed day it will be! There is a silent auction will amazing items from signed DVDs of The Guild, knitted Daleks, signed photos of Jewel Staite and many, many awesome items! There is also a costume competition, a screening of Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog AND an exclusive screening of first part of Browncoats: Redemption film. If that wasn't enough there is also the world premiere screening of the lastest episode of The Masked Roger, a comedy webseries by our awesome friend @alalcoolj. I hear the voiceover is amazing... :) Oh - and we get to watch Serenity, too. It will be shiny.
If you live in Vancouver or the Lower Mainland (or Bellingham, Seattle, West coast...) then pick up your tickets now at Happy Bats Theatre or buy them online. I'll see you at the MacMillan Space Centre on Saturday!
If you are not within reach then check on the CSTS website to see if there is a screening near you. There are 42 cities across the globe celebrating in one way or another in the coming weeks, so make sure you don't miss out.
Here are two videos from last year's event:
And Joss...
Y'all have your pretty floral bonnets ready, now don't you?
PS
How did CSTS come about anyway? For that we can thank @theonetruebix, since it was all his idea in the first place. I guess that's why we should never accept substitutes.
HOT NEWS JUST IN: I will be interviewing the one and only b!X about CSTS soon for PinkRaygun.com, so look out for that! In the meantime you can check out his rather fantastic photography site and maybe snag yourself a competitively-priced print. Or two.
As we once again thank the 'Verse for Joss, thought turn towards how he might celebrate this, his *cough* birthday. I'd like to think that Joss will be eating cake and perhaps imbibing a glass or two of his favourite tipple. He's had an incredibly busy year or so and deserves a day to relax and reflect. And so, I present for you a selection of cakes fit for the Master:
I pretty sure he won't be getting this from Cake Wrecks...
A Horrible Cake (or five...)
CakeNoveau has this medley of Dr Horrible-themed goodies:
Or, to celebrate all the Can't Stop The Serenity screenings...
...how about a Serenity cake?
Now there are some pictures of Serenity cakes floating around (!) according to Whedonesque which I couldn't find and also there's apparently one on greatwhitesnark.com but the site appears to be down at the moment. I have sent a couple of emails so if I hear anything I will get back to you.
Are you going to a CSTS screening?
The Vancouver screening is this Saturday, June 27th and I can't wait! Last year was a great event and not only will I be able to meet up with some great BC Browncoats, some special friends are flying in that I can't wait to meet, too. If you want to know more about CSTS, why people organise and attend these charity events each year, and where the money goes, there is all the information on the Can't Stop the Serenity website.
Tickets now on sale for this year's Serenity screening! Sunday, June 22nd is the date for this years' Can't Stop The Serenity Vancouver Charity Screening of Serenity. It is confirmed that the screening will take place at the The Norm Theatre, in the Student Union Building,6138 Student Union Blvd, UBC (University of British Columbia).Check out the official Vancouver blog for information, links to buy tickets and details about all the events on the day. You can order your tickets online using PayPal, or buy them up from Happy Bats Cinema, 198 East 15th Avenue (just west of Main Street) who will also be selling tickets after Saturday, May 3rd.
It promises to be a great event, and the proceeds go to charity:
"The charity screening is a global fundraising event for Equality Now, Joss Whedon's favourite charity. This year, Vancouver is also raising money for BC Women's Hospital and Health Centre. Ten percent of our net proceeds will be donated to BC Women's to help women and children throughout the province."
I'll be there, wearing my Jayne hat, so hope you can make it too!
